Le Grand Continental dance celebrates the joy of dance for all

Saturday

May 10, 2014 at 4:00 AM

Jody Feinberg The Patriot Ledger

To the big band music of Tommy Dorsey, 100 amateur dancers dropped to the floor in sequence to lie on their sides. At first, they laughed at the initial awkwardness, but a few attempts later, they applauded their success.

Leading the rehearsal in a Boston gymnasium, French Canadian choreographer Sylvain Emard cheered the volunteer dancers who have dedicated four hours a week to learn hundreds of steps for nine dances in different styles.

“We should have fun. We want the audience to be jealous,” he joked.

Next weekend in Copley Square Plaza, the public gets to see this joyful, entertaining community dance, Le Grand Continental. In just 10 weeks, Emard has turned 110 people, ages 11 to 73, into a unified dance troupe, performing with the energy of a flash mob and the synchronicity of professional performers.

“Wow, I feel like everyone is really trying and it looks really good,” said dancer Mary Ellen Reardon, an accounting assistant and Zumba instructor from Quincy. “It’s feels really special and exciting to be part of it.”

Le Grand Continental is a gift from the Celebrity Series of Boston, the finale of its 75th year anniversary celebration, which opened with the Piano Festival last fall. It has dedicated $120,000 to bring Le Continental to Boston, one of a handful of cities to host the dance since its debut in 2009.

“We wanted Boston to come together and dance,” said Gary Dunning, executive director of the Celebrity Series. “We’re showcasing that the arts are for everyone and everyone can participate. The dancers will knock your socks off at how good they’ve become.”

Le Grand Continental is designed so that anyone can succeed, provided they devote the time and effort. For the first weeks, the dancers rehearsed in two groups and received instruction from Peter DiMuro, executive director of The Dance Complex in Cambridge, as well as other dance instructors. When they came together as one large group, the weakest dancers were positioned to learn from the strongest. At home, the dancers – who come from 25 cities and towns – practiced with videos that broke down the steps. Despite the commitment, few of the initial 127 dancers dropped out.

Barry Kahn, 63, is dancing for the first time. Widowed almost two years ago, he joined Le Grand Continental after his girlfriend asked if he was interested.

“At first I was silent, because doing this is very unlike me,” said Kahn, a psychotherapist who lives in Winchester. “But it’s been wonderful. It’s been really hard, but it’s revitalizing my body and my spirit.”

Arranged in nine lines, the dancers in the center might be tempted to fudge their moves. But Emard expects everyone to dance as though they’re in the front row.

“It has to be a good performance, so I am challenging and pushing them to realize how important their contribution is,” he said.

Melissa Chow, an electrical engineer from Quincy, has embraced the challenge.

“It feels great to get it right from start to finish,” said Chow, 35, who has taken recreational dance but never performed for an audience. “I’m tired when I get home, but I’m energized. It’s really cool to be part of a big group and to see people of all different ages learn something this challenging.”

Emard choreographed the dances to big band, rhythm and blues, country, cumbia, funk and techno music, which makes the 30-minute program varied in mood and content. These include the dances “India,” to music by Tommy Dorsey, “Junior Brown,” a country piece to music by the American country guitarist and singer Jamieson “Junior” Brown, and “Go Go Prado,” a mambo set to music by Cuban band leader Perez Prado.

Kristy Lavigne, a criminal prosecutor from Quincy, has loved the camaraderie.

“It’s like you are dancing with a bunch of friends,” said Lavigne. “I think the people watching will wish they had done it.”

People can view the dance sitting in bleachers and on the steps of Trinity Church or standing along the edge of the plaza. After the performance, the plaza is opened up for the public to dance.

"The energy is very contagious,” Emard said. “You see the audience smiling and identifying with the dancers. That’s why we invite people to dance after the show. It’s like a party.”

A week before the performance, Chow said she had the moves down, but was focusing on her expression, smiling and connecting with the audience.

“I’m a pretty serious person, and this is freeing,” she said. “It’s fun to show a personality side that most people don’t see. My friends say, ‘I don’t know what the heck you’re doing, but I’m going to come see you.’"

Le Grand Continental, 8:30 p.m. May 16 and 17 and 3 p.m. May 18 in Copley Square Park. Free. The performance will be cancelled only in the case of extreme weather. Call 617-482-2595 for weather updates or go to www.celebrityseries.org.

Jody Feinberg may be reached at jfeinberg@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @JodyF_Ledger.

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